Power operated reclining chair



J ly 12, 1960 .1. J. BARABAS ETAL 2,944,595

POWER OPERATED RECLINING CHAIR Filed May 21, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 l lNvENToRs:

, Jay/v J 544 454:

July 12, 1960 J. J. BARABAS ETA!- 2,944,595

. POWER OPERATED RECLINING CHAIR Filed May 21, 1957' 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS. Jmv J. 5,424,945 MIVEE C". 11444/6 ATTORN July 12, 1960 J. J. BARABAS ETAL 2,944,595

POWER OPERATED RECLINING CHAIR Filed May 21, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 ATTORN 6;

POWER OPERATED RECLINING CHAIR John J. Barabas, East Meadow, and Sumner C. Willis,

White Plains, N.Y., assignors to Castro Convertible Corporation, Long Island City, N.Y., a corporation of New York 7 v Filed May 21, 1957, Ser. No. 660,528

9 Claims. (Cl. 155-106) mechanism which is rugged and reliable in operation but yet is not bulky or large and can be used in reclining chairs having attractive styling.

hereinafter.

Animportant practical'consideration in designing an adjustable recliningchair is that the chair should be comfortableto sit in and easy to adjust to any desired reclining position. In the past many reclining chairs, though comfortable, were awkward or diflicult to change from upright to reclining position andwhen once adjusted to a position were hard to change. to another position. Furthermore, such chairs were usually very complicated in structure and henceexpensive to manufacture.

. These and other objects willlin part; bQ'llIlddlSiOOd from andin part pointed out' 'the' description given ;nected to the operating mechanism to drive it efliciently and easily. Within a few seconds the motor, which is very small, can move the chair from an uprightposition to a full reclining position. Then by electrically reversing the motor, the chair can be returned just as quickly to' upright position. Even though the motor drive responds with great speed, the chair can be accurately adjusted to any position of greatest comfort to the user; When once set in any particular position, the chair're'mains locked there, even though the user shifts his weight, until the motor is again started. Vibration and noise from the motor are held to an absolute min: imum by the unique way in which the motor is mounted, this way of mounting alsomakes possible a simple and rugged driving connection between the motor and the chair operating mechanism.

A better understanding of the invention together with a fuller appreciation of its many advantages will best be gained from a study of the following detailed description given in connection with the accompanying drawings 7 in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of one reclining chair Figure 1 shown partly in section to reveal the operating mechanism, the chair being shown'in its upright position;

Figure 3 is a view like Figure 2 but showing the chair 1 in areclining position;

Figure 4 is a detailed side view of the foot rest broken away from Figure 3 to show the foot rest in extended position;

For the convenience of the person using a reclining chair, it is desirable to free him so far as possible from the mechanics of adjusting the chair from one position to another. Also, it is desirable to provide a chair operating mechanism which automatically locks in' any selected position once reached, but which also does not interfere with a rapid and effortless change to another A position when desired. For example, when a chair is extended infull reclining position and locked to prevent its shifting by movement of the person resting thereon, some means of effortlessly unlocking the. chair and returning it to upright position should be provided. Otherwise the person in thechair will be unnecessarily bur-' dened, and might come to view the chair as more of a master; than a servant.

One'general type. of reclining chair usedin the past clining position and vice versa. This was a convenient mode of operation and in general provided comfort and By simply shifting his position,"the person using simplicity. There remained, however, the desirability of; having-a practical reclining chair which could readily be shifted from one position to another without any effort whatsoever on the. part of the person using the chair and which when brought to a position remained there until intentionally shifted to another. The present invention provides such a reclining chair which, more-- bvefiiis siniple and inexpensive.totnanufacture v. a l In accordance with the present invention, anfoperating T mechanism-for adjusting a reclining chair;- is equipped with a small'electric" motor uniquely mounted and con- Figure 5 is a bottom view of the chair seen in Fig- I ure 2; V

Figure 5 is an exploded perspective view of the motor andcertain driven elements associated with' it, other parts beingbroken away or not shown;

Figure 7 is a side view partly in section showing, in upright position, another chair embodying features of the invention; and

Figure 8 is a perspective view of the motors and the elements driven by them in the chair shown in Figure 7,

' other parts being broken away or not shown.

to be described. Just behind and below the front end 1 of the right armrest 20 of the chair is mounted an electric switch 22 which can be pushed forward to make the chair move to its upright position or alternatively pressed backward to move the chair to its reclining position. Switch 22 has a center open-circuit position for deenergizing the motor which drives the chair operating mechanism.

Referring to Figure 2, seat 14 and back 12 of the chair are supported on frame 18 for movement by the operating mechanismgenerally indicated at 24 and consisting .of a

right side linkage, shown here, and a left side linkage which is the mirror image of the linkage at the right.

Each side linkage includes a stationary mounting bracket 26 which is fixed to the insideof a respective arm of the chair frame at the points 28. Fixed to each side of seat 14 is a strap 30 pivoted at its rearward end to a one of .thebr-ackets' at-point 32.; A similar. strap 34 is fixed to eaclrside of [the back 12 at the points 36. The upper 'jlare pivotedin common with straps 30 V ends of straps 34- to brackets 26 atuie points s2.

C 7 Patented July 12, 1960 Protruding fromthe -rear of each strap 34 near the lower. endihereof is a spur 38, to the outerendof which is pivoted at point 40 the rear. end of a swinging link 42. This link 42 is pivotally connected at its forward end to a linkfliiwhich, in turn, ispivotallyconnected at its upperend fo;fixed:-bracket. 26 'at.point 46. Near the center of rest- 16-supported therefrom outward and;upward.. The.-

swingingmovement of curved link 5415 controlledby.

the ush link 56 having its forward end pivotedto link 54 near itsupper end atpoint 58. The rear. end .ofJink;

56 is,pivoted to the lo-wer end of strap 3-4- attheipoint. 60.. The forward swinging movement ofcurved link 54,v in conjunction with,the movement of push link 56 actue ates a lazy-tongs arrangement, generally indicated at.- 62, on which the foot-rest is mounted,

As seen in FiguresZ andS strapsv 34 are attached ,to theouter sides of the spaced apartand parallel 64 of, the. back frame which extend down-below thenpholstered portion of the back 12. The lower ends pf these arms'64, with straps 34 omitted, are also shown in -Figure 6. Fastened on the inside .of these arms 64 at points 65 is, a U shaped bracketoo-to which, near its lower end, is rigidly fixed the forwardly projecting yoke 68. In the center of this yoke is pivoted at169 the front end of "a telescoping worm shaft or jack screw unit, generally indicated at 70.

The rear end of telescoping shaft unit70ispivoted at 72 to the clevis of a bracket 74 mounted on the'fixed, cross board 76 which extends across the lower rearward portion of the chair frame 18. Thus, when the te1escoping shaft 70'is extended from the position shown in.

Figure 2 to that shown in Figure3 the chair is adjusted from an upright to a reclining position.

Telescoping shaft unit 70' is advantageously a unit manufactured by the Eaton Manufacturing Corporation and sold by the Jacobs Co. Briefly described, with reference to Figures 5 and '6, it includes a rotatable inner wormshaft '78 which telescopes within an outer non-rotatable-sleeve 80. A slip nut in sleeve 8t meshes with in the sleeve to telescope the shaft and sleeve. Thenut,

however, is adapted to-slip in sleeve 80 when it meets a withdrawal of the shaft from the sleeve. Upon maximum withdrawal, the friction fitted slip ,nut will once again" slip and permit rotation of shaft 7 8. without longitudinal movement, of it relative to sleeve 86. The innerand outer limits of movement of shaft 78 relative to sleeve 80 canbe set as desired by placing small pins at spaced pointsonshaft '78 to engage the, slip, nut sleeve 8b.

tion by a small reversible motor 82, acting through a. gear unit 84 adjacent the rear end of the shaft... The. housing of this unit is non -rotatably pivoted through-its eyelet 85 in the clevis bracket 74H at-point-72, a rubber;

grommet 86 being inserted through eyelet .85 toreduce vibration passing from housing 84 to clevis '74:. Motor 82 is supported on the drive housing- 84w one; side thereof. The sole support for-motor 82 is its attachmentto thedrive housing. a The earl of the rotatable shaft of. motor 82, ..carries a worm shaft (not shown) which engages the ingi 8 4 and fixed tether end of shaft 7% for rotation withit, By. virtue of this construction wherein'the, motor is notmounted. directly on the frameof the chair, vibration.

and noise are effectively reduced Moreover, the foree the worm-shaft 78 and is frictionally heldfrom rotating i The shaft78 is adapted to be rotated in. either .direcf rim ofa worm wheel (not shownlmounted within hous exerted by shaft 78 and sleeve is always in line with their'axis since both ends of theshafts are pivoted. Ad? ditionally, the thrust produced by shaft 78 does not tend to bend the motor shaft and the operation of motor 82 is not afiected by the angular swinging of the chair mechanism.

The electrical connections to motor 82 have not been shown but it is to be understood that they can be entirely conventionalones for. a single phase. 1 10. volt: 60- cycle controLthe position of the footrest 16,-- the latter-being raised or lowered by a second motor operating ;in+ dependently of the first motor and controllingonly -the position of the footrest relative to the seat. Motor 110 best-seenin lFigureS wherein the chair mechanism isshown in perspective with some portions thereof broken away. It is. mounted in substantially thesame way as motor 82, being supported at one side of a gear housing 112 having an eyelet at its rear end. This eyelet is pivoted ,at 113 in a clevis 114 formed on a U-shaped bracket1'16- which is rigidly fastened to thewooden frame of the seat of the chair at points 118. screw 120 whose forward end is pivoted at 122. to a cross: bar-124. Cross-bar. 124 has its-outer ends fixedtothe parallel links .126 ,of the lazy-tongs arrangement62am!v when the bar is moved forward from theposition shown the links 126,- whose front ends are pivotedto links 54..

at points 58, move to. raise or extend footrest 16.,

The rear endofneach-link 126 ispivoted at 128v to. .a swinginglink 130 whose upper end is pivoted at 132 to, a

Extending forward frombracket- 116 at points 134 are two stationary braces 136 fastened V to the seat at points 53 to reenforce the bracket and hold the fixed bracket H6.

itr-igidly in position. Thus, foot rest 16 can be raised or lowered independently ofthe position of the back of the chair and depending only upon whether jack 120 is lengthened onshortened by motor 110. This motor can be controlled by .a switch in the same way as motor 82; y

The above description of the invention is intended in illustration and not in limitation thereof; Various changes may occur to those skilled in the art and these;

may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as set forth.

'We claim:

1. A power operated 'recliningchair comprising: a sta;

tionary frame having two spaced sides, two side-brackets each fixed to a respective side of said chair, a seat positioned between said sides and pivoted at points adjacent its rear to said side brackets, a back extending generally upwardand pivoted to said points with a portion of said back extending above said seat and a portion below said seat, .a first pair of links pivoted to the lower end of'said back and extending forward, a second pair of links pivoted-to the forward end of said first links-and extendr ing' upward, said second pair of links being pivotedto said fixed brackets, a third pair of links pivoted tothe middle of-the first links, extending upwardly andbeing pivoted to said seat forward of said rear pivot points, a

somewhat Y-shaped bracket rigidly attached to the lower end ofsaid back and havinga thrust point forward therethrust point,fand an electric motor co-nnectedto said 5' jack screw and adapted to retr actor ,extendihsaidi motor 7:5

in's u p cdsd. s e y oms id i ck c w.

Motor 110 actuatcs a jack' 2. The structure as in claim 1 in further combination with a foot rest, said footrest depending from the forback having an upper upholstered portion and two downward end of said seat by a linkage, and power operated means connecting said linkage to said seat to raise or lower said foot rest independently of said back.

3. The structure in claim 2 wherein said power operated means includes a second jack screw pivoted, at its forward end to said linkage and pivoted at its rear end to a U-shaped bracket extending down from said seat below the forward end of said first jack screw.

4. A double action reclining chair of the character described comprising: a stationary frame having two sides spaced apart, a back pivotally mounted on said sides and adapted to stand upright and alternatively to swing back to reclining position, said back having a lower portion adapted to swing forward, a seat supported from said sides in'front of said back, a footrest mounted on the front of said seat and adapted to hang vertically downward in front of said seat and alternatively to swing upward in front of said seat generally on a level therewith, first power operated means actingbetweenthe lower portion of said back and a fixed point on said. frame to adjustably position said back, and second power operated means adapted to swing said foot rest upward independ-' positioned below and in front of said first screw and extendable forward to swing said foot rest.

7. The structure as in claim 4 wherein the rearward end of said first screw is pivoted to a lower rearward portion of said frame, and at its forward end is pivoted to a bracket carried by said back lower portion, and wherein the rearward end of said second screw is pivoted to a bracket suspended in said chair within said arms and extending below the front end of said first screw, and the forward end of said second screw is attached to said foot rest.

8. A power-operated reclining chair comprising a chair frame having two sides and a back portion, a chair wardly extending side arms, a chairseat, pivot means at each side of the chair frame for mounting said chair back at a point intermediate its ends and said seat adjacent its rearward edge, a foot rest pivoted beneath the front of said seat and adapted to swing back and forth between a retracted vertical position and an outwardly extended position, a linkage at each side of said seat connected between said frame sides, said seat and the lower end of said chair back for coordinating their swinging movement between an upright and a reclining position, a somewhat Y-shaped supporting bracket connected between the arms of said chair back adjacent their lower ends and having a thrust point substantially forward of and generally equidistant from said lower ends, extensible jack screw means havingone end pivoted to said thrust point on said supporting bracket and its other end pivoted to a fixed point on said frame behind and generally on a level therewith, and an electric motor for rotating said extensible jack screw means to move the lower ends of said arms farther away from or. closer to said fixedpoint, said extensible jack screw means including a rotatable screw shaft, a nut engaged thereon,

and a gear drive housing mounted on one end of said shaft and connected to said motor and serving as the sole support of'said motor, said housing and said nut each being pivoted for straight line thrust along said shaft between said thrust point on said supporting bracket and said fixed pivot point.

9. The combination of elements as. in claim 8 wherein a noise insulating bushing is inserted at the pivot'between said fixed point and the rear end of said jack screw means. 1

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,500,742 Taylor Mar. 14, 1950 2,579,502 Lorenz Dec. 25, 1951 2,582,565 Schnippel et al. Jan. 15, 1952 2,668,580 Luketa Feb. 9, 1954 2,714,922 McKibban et al. Aug. 9, 1955 2,727,561 Bank et al. Dec. 20, 1955 2,781,824 Lorenz Feb. 19, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 683,042 Great Britain Nov. '19, 1952 

